Bay 12 Games Forum

 Human and Dwarf caravans came, problem seems to be solved. So yes, it does appear to be the mandates.

The new mayor likes picks, so that shouldn't be a problem.

 Goblins are really wimpy on this map. 30 Marksdwarves on the roof; few leaders and jabberers dead, they run away crying. Quitters.

Playing 34.11. Untamed Wilds woodlands next to a necromancer tower. Lots of fun with random necromancer attacks, zombie sieges, and thieving Kea circuses spicing up the usual goblin nonsense. Good times. And only four deaths so far. Most of my coffins are full of dead dwarven necromancers, and the refuse stockpile has 135 zombie corpses.

 I've just started year five and the elven caravan turns up, I send my marksdwarves up to guard the parapet and order our bins of (mostly) stone crafts hauled to the trade depot. Like we've done three times a year for several years before.

 Except this time the depot menu suddenly only recognizes two Finished Goods bins and a random bone amulet. Out of over a dozen bins in three Finished Goods stockpiles. This occurs using the All(value) menu and the Crafts submenu. Various weapons, armour, and ammunition bins do register.

 I undesignate all the FG stockpiles. No effect. I create a new FG stockpile next to the Trade depot. The dwarves promptly carry the bins to the new stockpile. No joy. Trade Depot menu is still pretending they don't exist.

 I create a dump zone and order the individual crafts dumped and reclaimed, then this gets ridiculous and I order whole bins dumped. I set up yet another FG stockpile with no bins allowed.

 Trade depot starts to recognize the individual items (and another couple of bins) once they reach the new stockpile, and I'm able to get about a third of what I wanted carried to the depot. While trading I realize the Elves have the same issue; all those bins of Rope Reed cloth they like to turn up with? Not showing up on the trade menu. Without it it's a pretty sad day for the merchants. Well, at least we got their wood, booze, berries and thread. Aforesaid bins don't show up when I use the "t" command to view the depot either.

 Haven't tried breaking the trade depot yet. I'll be polite and wait until the tree-huggers have left. Still.

 Not looking forward to be dumping and reclaiming constantly to trade with the people that actually matter.

 Anyone hit this one before? I've been playing since 38c and it's new to me.

 

Nobody with any experience in a non-magma metal industry bases his metalworking around trees. It's coal you need to find. Trade for fuel and wood as much as you can, but keep seeking for coal and it will set you free. Not from the need for beds of course, but for metalwork...that's another thing. You only need to turn a few units of something into coke and keep the process going.

On the other hand, beds are going to be a real problem. I agree with the last post but LOOK FOR FOR COAL. It will probably be in the mudstone.

PS, If you need trade revenue then the clothing industry is always available if you have soil. It's like the Devil, only without the horns. Plant pig tails, mill them, make socks out of the cloth. It's money regardless of resources.

ditch, retractable bridge, weapon traps.

If you are very careful to trade no more than 999 dwarf dwarf bucks to the dwarven caravan they should not come in the first winter. It's quite hard to trip the other two triggers they have in the first year. The difference between getting Orcs in first winter and getting them in the second summer is huge. For one thing, you've had migrants and can start putting a military together.

We have had our first baby! Joy of joys.

I'm wondering where the goblins have got to though. Beginning of year 4 and only one snatcher??

I just realised most of this thread CONTAINS NO USEFUL INFORMATION WHATSOEVER!!!!! Seriously guys, think about the question.

To the OP, using magma to melt ice  is extremely doable. You have to get the magma to the z-level below the ice without them touching. If you drain the magma a long way away from the source so that it keeps evaporating, an odd effect happens. The ice wall will turn into depth 7 water and drain away (assuming you've actually got it hooked up to your cistern), but it'll NEVER go below depth 1. And depth 1 water that freezes is still a full ice wall, and will turn into depth 7 water when it unfreezes. So, limitless water.

In short, even a tiny frozen pool plus magma is an unlimited water source. As long as you've got periodic magma evaporation and the right z-levels. This is easier to do on a taiga than a glacier BTW.

Once you have water, farming's just a matter of engineering.

I still would recommend that starting on an aquifer glacier, praying for butinimous coal once you're through it, and then trading for wood like heck (you will not be taking an axe. You can afford wood) would be a more reliable approach. Every non-magma fort runs it's metalworking on coal, not trees.

I'd like more cold areas. I don't feel properly evil enough living somewhere that doesn't freeze. At least I have haunted seaspray and undead deer to entertain me.

I don't think you can butcher werewolves, or tan their hides. But you can make gauntlets from their bones.